Does inbreeding lead to decreased human fertility?

@article{Bittles2002DoesIL,
  title={Does inbreeding lead to decreased human fertility?},
  author={Alan H. Bittles and John C. Grant and Sheena G. Sullivan and Rafat Hussain},
  journal={Annals of Human Biology},
  year={2002},
  volume={29},
  pages={111 - 130}
}
In most Western countries there is a widespread belief, fostered in part by historical prejudice and religious proscription, that inbreeding in human populations causes a reduction in fertility. Support for this belief has been claimed in HLA-based studies, with increased rates of fetal losses suggested in HLA-compatible unions. To critically assess the overall status of fertility in consanguineous unions, data on 30 populations resident in six countries were collated from a systematic review… 
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It is suggested that inbreeding depression affects reproduction in modern societies through an interaction with age, as compared with the first half of their reproductive period.

INBREEDING PATTERN AND REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS IN A RURAL COMMUNITY FROM GALICIA (SPAIN)

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    Journal of Biosocial Science
  • 2002
Information from 1503 reconstituted families shows that complete fertility was slightly higher among consanguineous families despite a greater infant mortality, which could explain the above results.

Reproductive pattern in consanguineous and non-consanguineous marriages in La Cabrera, Spain

In the La Cabrera population, consanguinity appears as a socio-cultural process that affects the reproductive dynamic and modifies the marital structure and alters the reproductive pattern, prolonging the reproductive period, which results in a greater number of offspring.

Consanguineous marriage and human evolution.

This work has indicated that the shift from consanguineous marriage to panmixia has been accompanied by a reduction in homozygosity, and predicted decrease in incidence of both recessive single-gene disorders and more common adult-onset diseases.

Associations of autozygosity with a broad range of human phenotypes

The authors show that a genomic inbreeding coefficient (FROH) is associated with disadvantageous outcomes in 32 out of 100 traits tested, suggesting that genetic variants associated with inbreeding depression are predominantly rare.

Consanguinity and child health

Consanguineous marriage and childhood health

  • A. Bittles
  • Psychology
    Developmental medicine and child neurology
  • 2003
The aims of this annotation are to review briefly the current global prevalence of consanguineous marriage and to estimate and describe the deleterious outcomes expressed in the early years of life.

Assessment of association between consanguinity and fertility in Asian populations.

The association between consanguinity and fertility was assessed reviewing published literature and analyzing demographic and health survey data from Pakistan and India, showing higher fertility among women in the first-cousin unions compared to those married to non-relatives.

A review of the reproductive consequences of consanguinity.

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References

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